The present invention generally relates to packaging containers for a variety of, inter alia, beverages and other liquid comestibles, and more particularly to packaging containers that permit such liquid comestibles to be made from dry mixes and water in the field along with heating of the thus-formed liquid comestibles.
A variety of liquid comestibles have limited shelf life and/or require refrigeration. Consumers of such products, however, often are required to consume such liquid comestibles when they are not at home and/or do not have access to refrigeration facilities. For example, a variety of foodstuffs will spoil if they are not refrigerated. The same is true for a variety of pharmaceutical products. Risk of spoilage due to bacterial contamination translates into a limited useful life of the product absent refrigeration. In other contexts, liquid comestible products may require heating for sterilization, organoleptic properties, etc. Thus, not only does the consumer require that the liquid comestible be refrigerated prior to ingestion, but often the comestible must be heated prior too.
The art has addressed the foregoing dilemma and proposed a variety of packing containers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,565 proposes a self-heating container system for heating beverages or food, wherein the container has an upper chamber filled with water separated by a thin plate from a lower chamber filled with lime. Sharp spikes can be depressed from outside the container to pierce the thin plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,218 proposes a similar heating system for heating or cooling foodstuffs wherein an external lock-out system prevents unintended piercing of the diaphragm and premature heating/cooling of the foodstuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,801 proposes a liquid/powder foodstuff mixing container with a piercing tool actuated from outside the container to pierce a diaphragm separating the water and powder. No heating or cooling is shown.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,394 proposes a similar mixing container for dry cereal and milk.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,867 proposes a self-heating container system for heating beverages or food much like that system in the '565 patent.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,753,085 and 5,205,277 propose other self-heating container system variants to the '565 and the '867 patents.
Despite these proposals, there still is a need in the art for a simple, yet reliable container that can house separately liquid and powder for admixing in the field, followed by heating of the in situ formed liquid comestible in the same container. The present invention is addressed to such need.